A lack of transparency about the apparent shooting death of a 26-year-old that occurred nearly three weeks ago in Sampson County has left more questions than answers about who died and why.
Sampson County Sheriff’s investigators confirmed that a death did occur, but declined to release the name of the deceased, where the person lived, or any of the details surrounding the case, noting “an ongoing investigation” as the reason.
While sheriff’s officials are normally tight-lipped about ongoing investigations, they typically release the victim’s name and address, when asked, and provide some general details about the case.
Only bare bones information was released about this case, and only after the Independent made a request for information.
Investigators acknowledged, when asked, that sheriff’s officers did, in fact, respond to a call of a possible shooting victim on March 14. That call came in at approximately 12:25 a.m.
A Sampson sheriff’s investigator said in an email response to the Independent’s inquiries about the possible shooting, that officers and detectives went to 7880 Wildcat Road, Ivanhoe, in response to the 911 call and “located a deceased male subject suffering from a suspected gunshot wound.”
The captain declined comment on the victim’s name or if anyone else was present when officers arrived. There was also no comment on why investigators called it a “suspected gunshot” wound.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, no further details will be released at this time,” he wrote in his email response.
Upon further questioning by the Independent about public record details, the captain reiterated that the investigation is ongoing “and the withholding is necessary to protect the integrity of the investigation.”
Saying there were a lot of moving parts to the ongoing probe, the captain indicated that once more information could be released, it would be provided to the Independent.
The Independent only learned of the incident after several anonymous callers tipped journalists to the possibility of a shooting this week.
Those who called the tips into the newspaper office said the shooting happened at a party and that the victim was an attorney in another county, but left no further details about the location or what type of party it might have been.
Sources indicate that an autopsy was to be performed, and that the deceased remained in the morgue at Sampson Regional Medical Center. Due to a family emergency, medical examiner Dr. Carl Barr could not be immediately reached for comment.
The callers’ information was not confirmed or denied by investigators.